Sheet glass breaking apparatus



J. R. MORRIS SHEET GLASS BREAKING APPARATUS March 14, 1939.

2 Sheets- Sheet 1 Filed Sept. 6. 1935 {H1 H dlmV,

0/06EPH A? MOERIGQ March 14, 1939; 1 R, MoRRls 2,150,391

l SHEEIGLASS BREAKING APPARATUS 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Sept. 6. 1935 e/asEPH A? More/a.

Patented Mar. 14,1939

2,150,391 snnn'r GLASS nmmrmd APPARATUS" Joseph R. Morris, Toledo, Ohio,

. Glass Company, Ohio, a corporation of Ohio bey-OWens-Ford assignor to Lib- Toledo,

Application September 6, 1935, Serial No. 39,363

6 Claims. (CI. 49-48) The present invention relates broadly to the cutting of glass sheets and more particularly to the breaking or cracking of the sheets subsequent to the scoring thereof along the proposed line 01 cut.

The aim of the invention is the provision of an improved apparatus of simple reliable con- 'struction which will operate to automatically break the glass sheets along the score lines as the said sheets are being carried continuously forsame,

wardly thereby, reducing the use of hand labor to a minimum as well as accelerating production:

the apparatus operating in a positive eflicient manner so that a clean break, may be had and uniform results obtained inthe cracking of a large number or successive sheets.

Other objects and advantages of will become more apparent during the course of the following description'when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings.

r In the drawings wherein like numerals are em-' ployed to designate like parts throughout the Fig. 1 is a plan view of a glass breaking apparatus constructed in accordance" with the present invention,

Fig. 2 is a sectional view taken substantially on line 2-2 of Fig. l, 3 is a side elevation of the breaking rolls, an

ing for said rolls.

' In the embodiment of the in the drawings, there is provided a horizontal runway consisting of a series of horizontally aligned conveyor rolls 5 which are adapted to re- .oeive the glass sheets thereupon and to carry the same continuously forwardly during the breaking operation. These rolls are mounted upon shafts 6 journaled at their opposite ends in bearings "I and 8 carried by the longitudinally extending sup porting members! and Ill respectively. Thecon- Y veyor rolls 5 ar'epreferably formed of rubber or some other material which will not mar or scatch the surface or the glass sheets. v

Interposed within the length of the runway arev the superimposed breaking rolls Al and I2 which serve to-crack the glass sheet alo'ng the score line as the said sheet-passes therebetween, the pair of breaking mils being substituted for one. of the conveyor rolls 5 and the vlower breaking roll 'I I being in horizontal alignment with the conveyor rolls. The breaking rolls II and", are mounted upon shafts l3 and I4 respectively, the shaft ll of the lower roll being rotatably mounted at each end in a stationary bearing block I! '(Fig. 4) carried by the corresponding supporting member 8 or III, while the shaft ll of the upper roll is rotatable at each end in a bearing block 16 slidablm mountedupon the-twov verticalpins l1 and lil the invention v Fig. 4 is an end view thereof showing. the meuntinvention illustrated 86. That is to say,

carried by the stationary bearing block IS. The

upper breaking roll I! is yieldably urged toward the lower roll ll bypa compression spring l9 at each end thereof, said springbearing at one end against the bearing block l6 and at its opposite end upon a horizontal plate 20 carriedat the upper ends of pins I1 and. l8. Securedto the bearingblock l6 and extending upwardly through the plate 20 is a screw 2| having threaded there- ,on a nut 22 which limits the downward move:

ment of the bearing block and consequently the movement of roll l2 toward roll II.

The glass sheet, after being scored, is passed'v between the breaking rolls H and H, which cooperate with one another to apply a bending movement to the glass spfllcient to snap the same'along the score lines.

In carrying out the invention,

portion 23 of uniform diameter and the tapered end portions 24 and 25, while the upper breaking roll I2 is provided with a'c'ylindrical central portion 26 of uniform diamete and the flared end portions 21 and 28, the flare? end portions of roll It being disposed opposite he tapered end-ponvtions'oi roll ll. With this. arrangement, it will be apparent that the pass between the two break:

cen-

ing rolls comprises a substantially straight tral portion 29 and the downwardly inclined end portions 30 and 3|. (Fig. 3.)

While the invention'is of course not limited to .the' breaking of any particular shape or size of glass sheet, it is especially applicable to the breaking of half Windshields for use in automobiles.

Heretoi'o it has been customary for the windshields of automobiles to consist of a single sheet of'glassextending the entire width of the machine. More recently, however, the practice has been to make the windshield of two sheets of glass which are separated at their inner adjacent edges by a substantially vertical post or other separator means arranged at the center of the machine. In Fig. 1 there is shown a sheet of glass 32 scored as at 33 to form a half windshield the section of glass inwardly of the score line 33 constitutes the half windshield, while the glass outside of the score line the lower breaking roll H is formedwith a cylindrical central is waste or'cullet. In making the completed windshield, two similar'half windshields'are used.

In cutting out the half windshield 34, the glass sheet 32 is first scored 'in the usual manner as at .33 to provide the substantially parallel side cuts i ll and, 86 and the curved connecting cut 31. The

glass sheet is then placed horizontally upon the conveyor rolls 5 and passed forwardly between the breaking rolls- I l and I 2.

, 'ii'he length of the breaking rolls is such that the point at which the lower roll ll begins to taper, asindicated at a in Fig. 3, and the point at which the upper roll l2 begins to flare, as indicated at b, are approximatelyopposite the two score lines 35 and 38.

half windshield, will be firmly gripped'across its entire width between the central cylindrical portions 23 and 26 of the said rolls, while those. portions of the sheet outwardly of the score lines will pass. between the correspondingly tapered and flared end portions of the' rolls H and I2 re-- spectively and which will operate to, produce a bending strain in the sheet sufllcient to break the same along the score lines. In other words, the flared end portions of breaking roll I! serve to exert a. downward pressure upon the glass outwardly of the score lines suflicient to effect a snapping of the glass along said lines as indicated at 38 in Fig. 3. It has been found that when the sheet is cracked along the lines 35 and 36, the crack will continue around the score line- 31 so that when the sheet h'asbeen passed between the breaking rolls, the waste glass will be broken away from the windshield section entirely vided, the breaking of the glass sheets may be.

accomplished in a substantially continuous 'manner. The sheets, as rapidly as they are scored,

can be passed betweenthe breaking rolls which will automatically crack the glass as it is being carried forwardly. In this manner, uniform results may be obtained in the breaking of a. large number of successive sheets.

' All or any portion of the conveyor rolls 5 may be positivelydriven as desired, and it is also preferred that the breaking rolls II and I2 be likewise positively driven. As shown in Fig. 1, the first two conveyor rolls 5' to the left of the breaking rolls are idler rolls while the remaining conveyor rolls are driven by a sprocket chain 39 passing oversprockets l flxed to the roll shafts 6. Motion may betransmitted to one of the conveyor rolls from a variable speed motor 4|- through suitable reduction gearing located in the gear case 42. The sprocket chain 39 also runs over a sprocket 48 keyed to the shaft ll! of the lower breaking roll Ii, while the upper breaking roll I2 is driven from the lower roll through the intermeshlng gears 44 and 45 carried by the rollshaits. 1

It is to be understood that the form oi the invention herewith shown and described is to be taken as .the preferred embodiment of the same.

. and that various changes in the shape, size and arrangement of parts may be resorted to without departing from the spirit or the invention or the scope of the subioined claims.

' I claim: l 1. In an apparatus for automatically breaking glass sheets after they have been scored, means 1 for carrying the scored sheets continuously forwardly, and a pair of oppositely disposed breaking roll's between whichvsaid sheets are passed, said rolls being provided with correspondingly tapered and flared 'end portions respectively which cooperate to apply a bending movement to .the sheet outwardly oi the score lines sufilcient 'to-eflect the breaking of said sheet along said lines- As. the glasssheet passes between the two breaking rolls, the section N of the sheet, constitutingthe 2. In an-apparatusior automatically breaking glass sheets-afterthey have been scored, means for carrying the scored sheets continuously for- --wardly, and a pairiof' oppositely disposed breaking rollsbetween which said, 'sheets are passed.

said rolls having central cylindrical portions enaging the sheet inwardly of the 'scorefline'; and correspondingly tapered .and flared end portions respectively'engaging-said sheet outwardly of said score lines and cooperating to apply a bending gmovement tothesheetsufllcient toeifept the breaking thereof along the said score lines. 1

'3. In an apparatus for automatically breaking lass sheets after they have been scored, a substantially horizontal runway sheets continuously forwardly, and a pair of superimposed breaking rolls interposed in-said runway and between which the scored sheets are passed, the outer end portions of the lower roll being tapered and the outer end portions of the upper roll correspondingly flared, the said tapered and flared end portions of the rolls cooperating to apply a downward bending movement to the sheet outwardly of the score lines sufllcient'to effect the breaking of said sheet along said lines.

4. In an apparatus forautomatically breaking glass sheets after they have been scored, a substantially horizontal runway for carrying the sheets continuously forwardly, and a pair of superimposed brealflng rolls interposed in said for carrying the runway and between which the scored sheets are I passed, the lower roll having a central cylindrical portion and tapered end'portions while the upper roll is also provided with a central cylindrical portion and flared end portions disposed opposite the tapered end portions of the lower roll, the central cylindrical portions of the rolls engaging the sheet inwardly of the score lines while the taperedand flared end portions of said rollsengage the sheet outwardly of said score lines and operate to apply a downward bending movement to the glass sufllcient to break the same along said lines.

5. In an apparatus for automatically breaking glass sheets after they have been scored, means for carrying the scored sheets continuously forwardly, and a pair of oppositely disposed breaking rolls between which the scored sheets are passed,

.said rolls being so constructed and arranged to provide a pass therebetween comprising a straight central portion and end portions extending at an angle with respect to said central portion, the glass passing through the angular end portions of the pass being subjected to a bending movement sufllcient to snap the glass along the score lines.

V 6. In an apparatus for automatically breakinggla'ss sheets after they have been scored, a substantially horizontal runway forcarrying the sheets continuously forwardly. and a pair of superimposed breaking rolls interposed in the length ofsaid runway and between which the scored sheets are passed, said rolls being. so constructed and arranged to provide a pass'therebetween comprising a substantially straight central :portion and downwardly inclined end portions,

the glass outwardly of the score lines passing through the inclined end portions of the pass and being subjected to a downward bending pressure sufiicient to eflect breaking of the glass along said score lines.

' JOSEPH R. MORRIS. 

